Category Archives: The Little Green Men

I remember running across the hall to my parents’ bedroom that night, frantically getting them out of bed and urgently leading them back to my bedroom.

Then, I pointed out what I was seeing. “Look, over there! Now there’s one over there!!” My parents continually asked me what I was talking about, as they saw nothing. This went on for a couple of minutes, probably the most unexplainable and mysterious moments of my life, at about six or seven years or age.

The “Little Green Men,” as I would come to call them, appeared like glowing, neon green outlines of figures, some that looked like people, and others that resembled something more abstract, like shapes. It sounds silly, but the best way I can describe their appearance is to picture the old “Vegas Vic” sign from the Pioneer Casino in Las Vegas, but imagine it glowing neon green only. That’s how they glowed, in various shapes and sizes.

Before my bewildered eyes, these green glowy things appeared to jump, float, and scurry about in my bedroom, which I shared with my older brother. Although I had no idea what they were (and still don’t,) they did not seem to be threatening or malevolent in any way. They would constantly move around and hide behind and under things; I specifically remember pointing one out that appeared to crawl inside a jacket that was hanging off a chair, and seeing it disappear and reappear.

I tried my best to frantically point out exactly where these things were, but there were several of them moving around my bedroom at once, and it was hard to keep track of all of them. My parents and brother saw nothing, although they tried their best (I remember being very insistent that these things were really there.) My family and I still laugh about the incident to this day, although nobody knows what I saw or what they might have been. And this was wayyy before I ever experienced or even knew about drug-induced hallucinations. Those I’ve had aplenty, and those definitely weren’t this.

I have told the story many times since then, and it remains just as baffling to me as it was back then. Sometimes I think, did I eat something funky that made me really sick and start to see things? But I wasn’t ill, I felt fine. Was somebody messing with me? I guess that’s possible, but I really think I would have been able to tell. I was just a kid, but even back then I would say I was very perceptive. Besides, one would think that, by now the truth would come out, if that were the case.

A good friend of mine really believes that I wasn’t just hallucinating. His theory is that I experienced a phenomena described in ancient Hawaiian folklore, called “Menehune.” Also known as “Nawao,” these are referred to as the “little people” of Hawaii, and can be described as being akin to pixies or trolls. The Menehune would roam the forest at night, and were characteristically mischievous and shy in nature. They are believed to be about two feet tall, although some are even smaller and can fit in the palm of a person’s hand.

According to legend, these mythical creatures are very industrious, master engineers who would utilize their prowess in construction to build things overnight, while being elusive and unseen during the day. Some historians believe that the Menehune folklore actually has roots with the earliest settlers of Hawaii, who were physically smaller than the Tahitians, who invaded their territory in 1100 A.D. The larger Tahitians subdued most of the Menehune, but some escaped and hid from the invaders in secret places in the forest during the day, while searching for food at night.

The Menehune are believed to be a good omen for anyone who sees them. Perhaps these characteristics of the Menehune are in line with the fact that the apparitions I saw did not seem to be malicious in any way, and did not frighten me. Also, the way that the “little green men” would hide under and behind solid objects, seems to point to the mischievous quality of the legendary creatures as well.

I’m not sure exactly what I saw that night…All I know is what they looked like and how they acted. As I mentioned before, at no point during the experience was I afraid of them, and in fact, I remember looking upon them with a sense of awe and wonder. My friend’s theory about the Menehune seems to fit fairly well with what I experienced. But what’s confusing to me is that I don’t live in Hawaii. Perhaps I’ll never know exactly what the “little green men” were. But I can say that I’ve lived a blessed life thus far, so whatever they were, they definitely seemed to be a good omen.